Does anyone know if Alan Lee wrote the date when he signed all the Children of Hurin Deluxe editions? I noticed that all the copies for sale on ebay signed by Alan had the date. But I found one for sale on another website that is signed by both tolkien and alan lee but is not dated.

I haven't heard of any loose bookplates that individuals could have to put in deluxe American editions, nor have I heard of Houghton Mifflin giving any away if they had held onto any bookplates this long.

The deluxe edition in the US was released almost a month after the bookplates were all given away in the USA.

The US trade editions with bookplates were not dated, as they were signed in advance by both CJRT and Alan Lee before being mailed over the Atlantic. The UK bookplates signed by CJRT in advance were signed by Alan Lee in person, and all dated (I believe) by Alan Lee.

Other CoH signings done just by Alan Lee he has always dated the signature, to my knowledge.

Well for starters... i have a US deluxe with a bookplate myself... it was given to me together with a letter from Sanj the marketing director of Houghton Mifflin. He insisted the only 'other' such edition was in his office.

Now, then something happened that was curious... I saw 4 deluxe US copies being sold, and I can say that the bookplates where absolutely genuine. I don't want to mention names, but these bookplates came 'from the UK' and where 'leftovers' from a bookdealer. (imagine leftovers). Funny enough this bookdealer ran out of UK deluxe editions and when seeing the amount of money offered by some people he stuck them in 4 US Deluxe Copies which he then sent to the US. There they got sold within one day after arrival.

Secondly, I know now some bookplates have been distributed to some 'good' client bookdealers to assure they have some 'presentation' copies for themselves. Some must start to hit the market now....

So the 4 US Deluxe, plus the true 2 US Deluxe makes 6 already, is this number 7?

By the way... not all UK bookplates have Alan Lee's autograph on the bookplate (most are on the title page) and not all are dated.

The one on ebay is a UK edition. It's difficult to read in the picture but I believe it says Harper Collins. There is also one signed on the Tolkienlibrary.com that is not dated. I sent an e-mail to the person selling on ebay. He said he purchased this from a silent auction and can provide the paperwork. I would love to have signed deluxe edition but I would not want to pay so much money if there is a chance they might be fraudulent. If you have any advice for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!